UPDATE FROM CAMBODIA!

Hi everyone! We have been here in Cambodia for a couple weeks now, and my body still hasn't completely adjusted to the heat. :P As soon as you step outside, you are hit by a wave of heat and humidity- but that has not changed the fact one bit that this place is amazing. As I write this, a monk in an orange robe is walking by with an umbrella. People are speaking Khmer (Cambodian language) all around me, and I am struck once again by the fact that I am in Asia, here. WHOA.

Our first few weeks we have been working with a ministry that is 20 minutes outside of the capital city Phnom Penh where we are staying, in a slum area where street kids roam freely and very few wear shoes or pants. The ministry we have been working with is called Children at Risk. Depending on the day, we play with the kids, teach them songs and dances, do arts and crafts, share stories and bible skits, teach basic hygiene and health (washing hair for lice, combing and braiding hair), etc. We also have been a part of the adult bible study that happens once a week- sharing our testimonies and giving sermons. The majority of our time at Children at Risk, we simply love the kids like Jesus would. It has been one of the greatest experiences ever, and I am so in love with the kids that regularly come to this ministry- I will be so sad when we leave them next week. Next week we will be moving on to another area for a couple weeks with a different ministry. The city is called Svay Rieng, and is very close to Vietnam. Supposedly, we will be working in a village and possibly working with some more kids and churches. We are all stoked, but sad to leave Phnom Penh for a while!

Time outside of working with Children at Risk has been spent getting to know the city, getting to know the culture, doing prayer walks, and visiting some important places. The culture here is one very different from Western culture, and has been a bit of an adjustment at times, but one that is new and welcomed!

Being in Cambodia has been such a blessing, but my team and I are also faced daily with difficult situations. Every day we walk by lots of young girls who are stuck in prostitution- working as bar girls and sitting outside bars on the streets. It breaks our hearts every time, morning, day and night, when we walk past. On the Waterfront here in Phnom Penh, I am horrified at how many older single white men are loitering and lounging around the city- the truth is, child sex slavery is real and it is happening here. All we can do as we walk past is pray that God speaks to them and stops them from their ill-intended plans. We are also regularly faced with the harsh reality of poverty in this city. So many children run freely on the streets, playing or begging for money. You see so many babies and small children who have no clothes and just walk around naked, playing in the filthy garbage and puddles. If only America could see what we are seeing... they would be stunned. This country so badly needs the love and healing of Jesus, and while we are here, I am doing my best to share it- even if it is one Cambodian person at a time.


Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my journey of getting here. I am so blessed by all your prayers and support! I am thinking regularly of you, and sending love your way.

Please continue to pray for me and my team as we move on from the main city of Phnom Penh and do some work out in the village area near Vietnam!

Bless you all heaps. 
Much Love, Holly